Fears of Child Abuse in Cricket

The England and wales Cricket Board (ECB) has asked former police chief constable, Jane Stichbury to investigate child abuse in their sport as it has emerged that nine coaches have been named as paedophiles.

The view will take the form of revisiting, “current practices and processes around safeguarding” and another ECB member Lucy Pearson will assist with an “internal audit”.

Stichbury has been asked to assist following an investigation by the Sunday Times. This investigation revealed, “that coaches at all levels of cricket have been convicted of child sex offences in recent years.”

Marques Church a former coach for the England International Team was jailed for six months in 2008 for possessing pornographic films of underage children. Michael Strange a scout for Durham Cricket Club was jailed for three years earlier this year for ten counts of sexual abuse after he assaulted a boy in his car. Simon Price in November last year was found guilty of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity whilst a coach at the Evesham and Harvington Cricket clubs in Worcestershire.

The ECB have said, “We are totally committed to offering a safe environment for everyone in cricket. We take out safeguarding responsibilities very seriously…. No-one can be complacent and we are always looking to improve and learn from best practices in the game and elsewhere.”

Police have said that they are investigating 83 potential suspects and believe that there are possibly 350 victims.

Jordans are currently representing a large number of clients who have suffered physical and sexual abuse. We represent individuals who have been abused whilst involved in sporting clubs and organisations. Where a person abuses their position of trust and commits an act of assault a claim may be possible. We would encourage anyone affected who would like to discuss pursuing a civil claim to contact us.